He Is Already Dead

Earl Kan Gong's Manor.

"Did you hear? A dangerous monster has appeared in the Miral Labyrinth. Several adventurer parties barely made it out alive. I also heard that the monster looks exactly like a human."

"Yeah, I heard about that too. That monster even uses a sword to slash people, and it eats other monsters. It's so terrifying... I hope the Lord has a way to deal with this monster."

"Ah, Your Highness the Princess."

The servants' conversation was overheard by Princess Elena as she passed by. Speaking of the Miral Labyrinth, that seemed to be the place where Torres was undergoing his special training.

Torres hadn't returned for a month, and she didn't know how his special training was going.

Recently, the Earl was discussing the attack on the royal capital with lords from other territories. Since Elena didn't have much to do normally, she could only stay quietly in the manor.

As usual, Elena walked towards the garden pavilion of the manor to pass the time for the day.

However, at this moment, her beautiful emerald eyes seemed to have spotted something. Upon seeing the approaching person, she immediately said,

"Good morning, Lord Xi Xi."

"Oh, morning, Elena." Ye Chuan happened to be passing by with Elara. Seeing Elena, he raised his hand to greet her.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Elara bowed obediently.

Elena gave a faint smile. However, seeming to remember Torres, she asked Ye Chuan, "By the way, Lord Xi Xi, may I ask you something?"

"Oh, go ahead," Ye Chuan grunted in acknowledgment.

"How is Torres progressing? I heard a very unusual monster has appeared over in Miral. Is he going to be alright?"

Hearing this, Ye Chuan paused for a few seconds before looking up.

"Who is Torres?"

Elena blinked. "Eh..."

"Hmm?"

"Eh?!!" Elena immediately exclaimed, "L-Lord Xi Xi, are you joking? Torres. My guard, Torres. The son of the Reinhardt family's head knight, Torres."

"Just kidding." Ye Chuan waved his hand. "Of course I remember. That big, goofy holy knight."

"Phew..." Elena breathed a sigh of relief.

She had thought Ye Chuan had actually forgotten about Torres.

Ye Chuan's next words made her freeze again. "Oh right, what has he been up to lately? I haven't seen the guy."

Elena: "..."

"Um, didn't Torres go on a special training with you? In the Miral Labyrinth."

Ye Chuan asked, "Oh? It's been over a month, shouldn't he have been back ages ago? It was only supposed to take three to five days. He has to eat, right?"

Elena: "Eh?"

"Hmm?"

"Eh?!"

"Oh?"

"Ehhh—" Elena said, "Torres hasn't come back for over a month!"

Ye Chuan: "..."

Is that so?

Hmm?

Well, how about that.

"Torres isn't in any danger, is he?!" Elena asked.

"His level isn't low, so what could possibly happen to him?" Ye Chuan said. "Besides, the location of his training was on the first and second floors. The monsters there are much lower level than he is."

"I see." Elena thought about it and seemed somewhat reassured.

"It doesn't matter. Worst case scenario, he dies and perfectly embodies the path of chivalry," Ye Chuan said.

Elena tugged at Ye Chuan's clothes and said, "Lord Xi Xi, please stop joking around. This isn't funny!"

"That's right, Teacher. Sir Torres will be fine, right?" Elara also asked.

"Alright, I'll just go over and take a look. There's no need to be so tense," Ye Chuan said.

Elena took a step back and nodded gently.

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Xi Xi."

"Okay, perfect timing." Ye Chuan looked at the blue-haired girl beside him. "Elara, it's a good opportunity for you to go to the Miral Labyrinth as well and find some monsters to train with."

"T-Training is fine, but Teacher, you wouldn't just abandon me down there for a month too, would you?"

"Of course not."

"That's good."

Ye Chuan simply picked Elara up by the collar, then with a light tap of his foot, he soared straight into the air. "Liftoff~"

"Eh, eh?! Teacher, wait a minute, I'm scared—"

Seeing the disappearing silhouettes of Ye Chuan and Elara, Princess Elena couldn't help but start praying.

...

...

Miral Labyrinth. Ye Chuan had returned here with Elara.

"T-Teacher, I'm dizzy, woo~"

"It's normal to feel dizzy. You'll get used to it after a few more times." Ye Chuan put Elara down. He glanced into the interior of the labyrinth, then directly released his divine sense to envelop it.

However, the labyrinth seemed to have some kind of restriction. Ye Chuan's divine sense only swept through the first three floors. He did find Torres's aura, but he didn't find any trace of Torres himself.

"Let's go, we're heading in."

"O-Oh, okay." Elara was still very confident in Ye Chuan's strength, having witnessed just how powerful his magic truly was.

But after coming inside, Elara no longer thought that way.

Throughout the interior passages of the labyrinth, there were blackened, foul-smelling bloodstains and monster corpses everywhere. The level of brutality far exceeded Elara's imagination.

"S-So intense..."

"Let's go. There are no more monsters on the first floor." Ye Chuan continued walking deeper inside.

"Teacher, wait for me."

Moving on to the second floor, the stench of blood here was even heavier. A sheltered young lady like Elara, who had grown up in a manor, couldn't stand the smell at all.

"Teacher..."

"If you can't bear it, try using magic to alleviate your condition," Ye Chuan said.

"Yes..."

Elara's water magic included a purification spell, so she raised her staff and began to chant, "High-Speed Incantation, Gutana, Water Purification!"

A ring of water gathered around Elara's body. Accompanied by a rainbow glow, Elara instantly felt much better.

"Teacher, I'm good now!"

"Hmm, not bad." Ye Chuan nodded slightly upon seeing Elara start off with High-Speed Incantation.

This was a task required by Ye Chuan. No matter what magic Elara cast, she had to cast High-Speed Incantation first. Even though this consumed a lot of mana and mental energy, Ye Chuan felt it was extremely beneficial for her.

Casting your skills faster than others gives you many preemptive advantages.

Although he was getting paid to teach magic, Ye Chuan didn't want his student to be completely useless.

Because he needed to find Torres's location, Ye Chuan didn't waste time with Elara and kept heading downward.

By the time they reached the fourth floor, the monsters here were sufficiently dangerous, at the very least, they were not something Elara could handle. However, as for Ye Chuan...

Those monsters would explode with just a single glance from him.

"Oh? Found him." After arriving on the fourth floor, Ye Chuan's divine sense finally swept over Torres's aura.

After leading Elara in the direction of his divine sense, the two of them soon saw Torres.

He was wearing tattered armor, standing in place with lifeless eyes. The surrounding area was filled with minced meat and skeletal remains, emitting a terrifying aura.

"Sir Torres!" Elara called out, but then she realized something was wrong.

"Wait... this is..."

"Yeah, he's already dead." Ye Chuan had also noticed this.